‘Dancing with the Stars’ 18: Mark Ballas, Derek Hough sound off on Abby Lee Miller

When Abby Lee Miller was a guest judge on “Dancing with the Stars” Monday night, we had one quick response to it: Why? She is one of the most notorious dance teachers out there, and her series in “Dance Moms” is mostly just incredible uncomfortable to watch? To us, there is just nothing that endearing about sitting there and watching someone yell at young dancers. We don’t get how the show stays on the air, or the entertainment value.

Also, we don’t get how producers thought that her judging was a great idea, given that not everyone really enjoyed having her around the first time. Speaking per The Hollywood Reporter, Derek Hough’s comments about her sum up what a good many feel:

“I’m afraid for kids who are exposed to pressure, anxiety and things like that at such a young age and are put down … My fear is that they’ll get burnt out as soon as they hit 16 and they won’t want to do it again.” 

Mark Ballas told the website that he stands by some of the comments he made years ago about her teaching methods being wrong, and fellow pro Sharna Burgess claims that her entire show is more of a stunt about herself than anything meant to help out young dancers:

“The way she treats her children, the way she teaches them — she’s not molding anybody into a star; she’s not teaching anybody to harness any creativity; she’s trying to make good TV, … What she is doing to those kids now at this age is going to affect them for the rest of their lives.”

Yet, “Dancing with the Stars” gave her a platform, and the show had its worst ratings in quite a long time. We’re not going to say that she was the only reason (“24: Live Another Day” was premiering, and that likely took viewers away), but it may have still played a role.

What do you think: Did “Dancing with the Stars” botch it when it comes to their choice of guest judge? Share below, and click here for more updates via our CarterMatt Newsletter.

Photo: ABC